STORING WINE.

Maybe it’s a result of our scorching summer but a question that keeps cropping up is, “John, I don’t have a cellar so where’s the best place to store my wine”. The answer’s not as difficult as many will have us believe.

Most people don’t have a cellar and keep their wine under the stairs, in the bedroom, in the kitchen, in the garage, that’s fine as long as it’s kept in a stable environment. That means we’re talking about temperature, humidity, vibration and ventilation.

The temperature should be between 10 and 13 degrees centigrade and temperature fluctuations should be avoided. So, a wine rack next to your boiler is not a good idea. 

Humidity should lie between 65 and 70 percent. Too little humidity can dry out the corks whereas too much humidity can remove labels; that’s not a good idea if you then mix up your Chateau Margaux with your Chateau Migraine! As you’ll guess, drying corks can let air into the wine resulting in oxidation.  

Vibration should be avoided, especially for wines with sediment, so mind those wobbly stairs. 

Ventilation is important but it’s not often a problem.

Wines should be stored on their side to prevent the corks drying out, again, to avoid the dreaded oxidation. There’s been some discussion recently about storing Champagne and sparkling wines with the bottles upright. This may be OK for say a month, max, but again these wines should also be stored on their side, to prevent the corks from drying out.

Wine likes darkness and in particular, light can be harmful for wines in clear glass bottles; one of the reasons Louis Roederer’s Cristal Champagne has its famous orange cellophane wrapper. 

So, there we have it. No matter where your ‘cellar’ is, if you’ve ticked all the boxes of temperature, humidity, vibration and ventilation, you’ve found ‘your’ spot.